What constitutes "lower end" coins?

What makes a good coin good? I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but, don't circulated, or better, "not uncirculated" coins have signifigant value? Would one rather have one expensive car, or 4 or 5 "regular" cars? Now I don't guess one would want 10 old broken down cars that don't run very well, but, would those 10 cars collectively, be valueless? Maybe one could take those 10 old cars and redeem them for a decent hot tub and a few kegs of beer. My point is I guess I get a little bummed sometimes reading posts about MS this and UNC that. I know coins and condition go kind of hand in hand, and, I don't really want to own 25000 memorial back cents with late dates but, I like some lower end coins. For instance, I love the liberty walking halfs ,so I bought a bunch, and most are, by themselves, not all that valuable, but, together, form a collection that, together with other coins of different varieties, make a pretty cool collection. Besides, when the economy goes up in smoke, maybe quantity will be better than quality. I can't spend a thousand dollars on one coin, but, I might spend a thousand dollars on a nice, varied, collection of stuff. Seems almost snobbish to me, some of the post I read, but, just one man's opinion. I feel better now..I think.

Personally I would go for a few coins totaling a sum of one thousand dollars before buying one piece that cost the same amount. I would say that a lower end coin is a crappy coin for a common date or anything that sells at BV. But don’t get me wrong I do have some lower end coins that have great eye appeal, they are just really cheap. But still you don’t want to be hording junk all the time; you want to build value… my opinion.

What makes a good coin good? I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but, don't circulated, or better, "not uncirculated" coins have signifigant value? Would one rather have one expensive car, or 4 or 5 "regular" cars? Now I don't guess one would want 10 old broken down cars that don't run very well, but, would those 10 cars collectively, be valueless? Maybe one could take those 10 old cars and redeem them for a decent hot tub and a few kegs of beer. My point is I guess I get a little bummed sometimes reading posts about MS this and UNC that. I know coins and condition go kind of hand in hand, and, I don't really want to own 25000 memorial back cents with late dates but, I like some lower end coins. For instance, I love the liberty walking halfs ,so I bought a bunch, and most are, by themselves, not all that valuable, but, together, form a collection that, together with other coins of different varieties, make a pretty cool collection. Besides, when the economy goes up in smoke, maybe quantity will be better than quality. I can't spend a thousand dollars on one coin, but, I might spend a thousand dollars on a nice, varied, collection of stuff. Seems almost snobbish to me, some of the post I read, but, just one man's opinion. I feel better now..I think.

Quick point. Suppose your thousand dollar coin, in a bad economy for example, is said to be worth a thousand, but noone is willing to pay over 500 for it. Is it worth 500 or one thousand?

Click to expand...

Ultimately everyone has a different passion about coins. And that passion can change over time as mine has over the years. I started collecting anything I found that "I" thought was neat. Then as I studied numismatics my attitude, perception, and passion changed as well. Today I prefer MS or UNC coins because to me they represent the best examples of that type of coin. Yet I have many many circulated coins because to own a MS of that year/date is not or may never be in my budget.

There are times when I would rather have one MS example of a SLQ then the 8 F/VF ones that I do have. Finding someone to give you what you want or what you think your coins are worth can be impossible.

When I was buying coins, back when I had plenty of money to spend, I soon learned not to impulse buy because the little things collectively would limit if not exclude the my ability to buy one high dollar coin in the long run.

I have learned patience, specially now with no funds for coins.

IMHO a coin is only worth what you can get for it, not what the Mags and TPGs say it should be worth.

Quick point. Suppose your thousand dollar coin, in a bad economy for example, is said to be worth a thousand, but noone is willing to pay over 500 for it. Is it worth 500 or one thousand?

Click to expand...

In saying “thousand dollars” are you saying book value or what I’m talking about Market value, book value is a ball park, but coins fluctuate like anything ells and that’s why you have to know the coins you buy, you have to study the price trend and know when you’re getting a deal or most importantly, when you’re getting flat out ripped. This would happen a lot if one would only rely on book trend which are only published yearly. If you would be paying 500 dollars less on market value due to people squeezing their budgets due to poor economic times, or a messed up auction you end victor,,, you could even try to sell it as soon as possible to horde in a greater sum then that which was initially used to buy a better coin.

I would buy whatever makes you happy. I personally have no problem with VG/F coins in my collection. I do like to have one higher end coin in each series just to see what they looked like before decades of circulation. I also think there will be some tremendous deals on higher end coins as we deal with this economic downturn.

There are so many factors involved that I think it's hard to settle on one defintion. Supply and demand factors can and do make a circulated coin of one type sell for much more than a well designed, beautifully struck coin of another type. Or another country for that matter... it amazes me sometimes how some very low mintage coins have very low costs.

Quick point. Suppose your thousand dollar coin, in a bad economy for example, is said to be worth a thousand, but noone is willing to pay over 500 for it. Is it worth 500 or one thousand?

Click to expand...

In your example, the correct answer is that the value of the coin is unknown until a transaction takes place. Sometimes coin prices behave more like real estate because the market isn't very liquid.

Personally, if two coins both carry a price of, say, $50, and one is MS and the other is VF, I will usually prefer the VF because for me, owning a coin where the value comes from scarcity is preferable to a coin where the value comes from condition. However, I think most collectors value condition more than scarcity.

I hear you man. Too often I am reading my coin mag or a posting and someone is going on about this wonderful MS, proof, or otherwise flawless coin. Often I don't mind it at all, I know that all modern stuff is going to be that way and millions of morgan dollars were stored for years, but its the "cheap" coins that are hundreds, or thousands in MS but only a few dollars or in some cases right at bullion value for a fine that get me. I can't afford to spend thousands on my barber dime set, but I can put together a nice mostly matched set in F/VF with a few dipping up or down out of that, and the whole of the collection will be worth more at the end than the individual sum of the coins.

The way I think, I'd rather have 10 $10,000 cars (new) than 1 $100,000 car (new) but I'd much prefer to get a $100,000 car for $10,000. So I don't mind lower grade coins but I dew go after the better ones. So because of them being key varieties, that turns a lower end coin into a good coin but I would love to have key varieties in better shape if affordable. I figure I'll upgrade when I can afford to, right now I'm building my collection so as long as it's attributable, it's worth getting in my book (if the price is right).

But what really matters is what you can live with. If you like it and the price is right, it's a good coin. :thumb: When you start collecting based on other peeps likes/dislikes, you are part of the mob and not an individual so be yourself and let your collection reflect you, not the rest of the mob.

Well thanks for the responses, and I agree w/BQ. I do think half the fun is grading and hoping for what each coin could be/ may be some day, worth, and w/MS..well..MS is MS. (sort of). I guess to each his own. Perhaps the longer I collect, the more "snobbish" I will become with coins and get on the "I only collect the best" bandwagon. Who knows. If I were rich, I'd buy all the best, all the time, then again, if I were rich, I might not care about collecting coins. Maybe collecting real estate or stock or boats, planes,and trains would be more "stylish". Cool thing about coins is everybody has or can get access to some type of coins and start collecting. Boats, trains and planes are a bit tougher to collect (for me). Quantitatively, coins are infinite, and the quality can vary greatly, something the collector "tweaks" over the years as one goes along, and, in my mind, thats the real appeal of collecting. I'm also sure that if I had the choice between an MS60 1872CC Morgan, and a 28,000 dollar car..well....I'm pretty sure I'd pick the car, even if it was a second hand car (a nice second hand car,mind you, maybe a Corvette or the like).

My advice is to not let another collector determine what turns you on in this hobby. If you like more coins for your dollar, then more power to you. If you seek Uncs and have less, then that is OK too.

Since I desire higher grade coins, the cost makes me collect fewer of them. I hope that doesn't make me a snob. It is just my preference and I think it will also bring my heirs a better return if they decide to sell them someday.

I would rather have a condition rarity than a mintage rarity since I can't afford to have both with my available cash. An example would be my one and only Barber quarter. I gain pleasure in seeing all the design features clearly.

Tom - there will always be some tension between buying for pleasure and buying for possible long term resale value. I like to try and achieve both by collecting fewer coins/tokens in higher grades. However, your mileage may vary and I wouldn't presume to judge you about your approach to a hobby that you love!

If you are into the lower end coins like I am, think of it this way. The MS coins have been sitting in storage most of their lives. Pretty BORING! The circulated ones have been in contact with all sorts of people and things. They have made many purchases and have been many places. Imagine the story they could tell, as opposed to a Morgan dollar that sat in a vault for seventy years, then sat in a safe deposit box for another thirty.

As already noted, lots of different issues being discussed. The term low end is just what some call the poorest grad of a coin. Not sure but I suspect that a long time ago Whitman started the term GOOD meaning a coin that is really poor or a mess. Note the grade G-4 probably really means YUK to some.
As to a pile of cars of low value compared to one of high value. Check out the insurance rates for a high priced car compared to a Chevy or Honda. And where would you drive a $250,000 Ferrari? To a Jewel Food mart parking lot? And they don't hold much in the way of food anyway.
With the economy as it now is try selling a $10,000 coin compared to a $10 coin. And as already noted if you try selling a coin that is SUPPOSED to be worth $1,000 and your only offer is $500, your coin is worth $500.
Myself, I would rather look for any coin I need or want regardless of it being in only good or fair condition. Not sure why people want a coin that cost so much it has to be in a slab. Just me but I can't see having an album with a note saying that the empty slots have coins but in a slab hidden somewhere.